Anxiety (Part 2): Understanding Its Causes, Treatments, And Cases In The Bible" Series

Testimony: Last Tuesday, when we were in Virginia, my wife, my son (Eric), and I fell asleep. Suddenly our phones rang telling us there was an important message. An "Emergency Alert" told us to take shelter immediately because the tornado might hit our area (See PP). The question that came to my mind was, where is it? Eric said there was a basement outside the house, but it was raining hard outside, and the room was filthy and dark because we had never used it. So, we prayed, asking for God's guidance on what we should do. In my prayer, I remembered the story in Matt 8 about how Jesus calmed the storm. I felt at peace. God took my fear. I prayed for God's protection to us and everyone in the area and trusted that nothing would happen. So, we didn't need to leave the house and continued to sleep peacefully. Please understand me; there are times when we surely need to find shelter or avoid danger. I want to emphasize that we should not panic and fear t when we face an unpleasant situation. Do not let our situation control us. Come to God and ask for His wisdom or guidance. If God leads us to find shelter, then we should do it.

Advice from Jesus

As we studied Matthew 6:25-34 last month, we see Jesus taught us to examine our worry or anxiety. In Greek, the word "merimnaó' that Jesus said in verses 25,27,28 and 34 means 'worry' or 'to be anxious about.' In His teaching, Jesus encouraged His disciples to ask themselves why they were worried or anxious. What made them anxious? And then, Jesus reminded them that they were so precious in the eyes of God, the Creator of the universe, and how God, their heavenly Father loved them and would take care of them and provide for their needs.

Our anxiety reflects our view of God. Tim Keller writes, "Worry is not believing God will get it right, and bitterness is believing God got it wrong." How we respond to life's trouble reflects how we view God and whether we trust how He has acted towards us. Jesus makes the case that our worry stems from a heart of unbelief that God is working wonderfully towards us. To those who doubt the provision and power of God to do what's best, Jesus gives a gentle rebuke, "O you of little faith." How often do we become distracted when we fear the future and take matters into our own hands? We seek to control our destiny and focus on what we want, and we don't trust God to provide or to keep us safe.

Closing

I want to close this message today by inviting you all to take a quiet moment and think about this one essential question: How do you view God? Do you believe He is a good God who loves you and cares for you? Or, if you search your heart deeply, you will find that you have some unpleasant feelings about God.

Maybe you were disappointed with what happened to you and blamed God for allowing that to happen to you or did not intervene to help you. Because of that, you lost your trust in God. And now you often worry or are anxious about facing your situation because you do not believe God loves you and can help you, provide for your needs and protect you.